Display form for footwear

ABSTRACT

A one-piece resilient sheet material display form is insertable into shoes of various sizes and will remain erect under tension without the necessity for fastening or anchoring attachments. The flexible straps and lacings of footwear are supported on the form in a practical manner and the form may bear advertising indicia. The form is preferably transparent and formed of plastic. A second embodiment is formed of wire for similar purposes.

United States Patent 1191 Wyatt [4 1 Aug. 7, 1973 DISPLAY FORM FOR FOOTWEAR 2,872,692 2/1959 Moses 12/115.8

[76] Inventor: William P. Wyatt, 171 1 Sturbridge pl. Crofton Md. 21113 Primary Exammer-Patr1ck D. Lawson Attorney-Nicholas J. Aquilino et al. [22] Filed: Sept. 1, 1971 [2]] Appl. No.: 176,913 [57] ABSTRACT A one-piece resilient sheet material display form is in- 521 US. 01. 12/115.s viable into Shoes of various Sizes and will remain 511 Int. Cl A43d 5/00 erect under tension Without the necessity for fastening [58] Field of Search l2/l28 R, 115.8, or anchoring attachments The flxible Straps and 1 12/123 36/1 ings of footwear are supported on the form in a practical manner and the form may bear advertising indicia. 5 R f n Cited The form is preferably transparent and formed of plas- UNITED STATES PATENTS tic. A second embodiment is formed of wire for similar 1,658,475 2/1928 Brewer 12/115.8 purposes 9 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures 8/1936 Tibbott PATENIEL AUG H975 3 750,208

WILLIAM R WYATT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION With the ever-increasing popularity of footwear having various forms of straps, ties and lacing, the displaying of such footwear with the straps in a normal use position has become a substantial problem. It is not satisfactory to display the footwear with the lacing, straps or ties in a collapsed, haphazard condition since the attractiveness of these elements in their normal use position is entirely lost in the display.

Certain devices have been proposed in the prior art to aid in the displaying of footwear of the abovementioned character and one such device is shown in prior US. Pat. No. 3,197,793, issued Aug. 3, 1965, to M. Walters. The Walters device is suitable for displaying only particular types of footwear and also requires attaching to a shoe with a penetrating pin element, which is undesirable.

The objective of this invention is to provide a simple display form for all types of footwear embodying straps, ties and lacings in various lengths and forms. Among footwear suitable for use with the subject invention are shoes known in the trade as the following types: slingback; ankle strap; ankle tie; instep tie; thong sandles; strap sandles and all other mens, womens and childrens shoes, boots and sandles. The display form is characterized by economy of manufacturing and having the ability to stand erect in shoes of substantially any size without attaching or fastening means and without marring or damaging the shoe in any way. The

above is accomplished by utilizing a single section of thin resilient sheet plastic or the like as the display form shaped to fit into a shoe and having the profile approximating a foot and ankle. The flexibility of the form allows it to be wedged into the shoe and to be selfsupporting therein and to also support the straps, ties or lacings of the shoe in a most advantageous manner. Since the display form is transparent, its presence in the shoe is scarcely noticable and the effect on the viewer of the display is that the straps, ties or lacings are standing unsupported in their normal use positions rather thanbeing collapsed in an unsightly manner. The transparent natureof the form also provides clear visibility of the brand name which is customarily imprinted or stamped on the innersole of the shoe. Manufacturers vh'avegone to great lengths to make the brand name bigget and more attractive and the form is compatible with this purpose. Labels or advertising materials may be attached to or imprinted on the sheet material form, if desired. The. form may also be utilized with pins, tacks, or strings to suspend the displayed shoe from a wall display fixture, ceiling or any means of support above the shoe. The nature of the form as a simple unitary section of sheet plastic renders it so inexpensive to produce that it may be given away, if desired, in some cases as apromotional or advertising adjunct.

The advantages of the invention over the prior art will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and further features and advantages of the device will become apparent during the course of the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING FIGURES FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the display form.

FIG. 3 is a plan view thereof illustrating the flexibility of the form which allows it to adjust to various shoe sizes with a wedging action.

FIG. 4 is a view of a second embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to the drawings in detail wherein like numerals designate like parts throughout, a footwear display form in its entirety is designated by the numeral 10 and comprises a unitary section of relatively thin and preferably transparent resilient sheet plastic of which many types suitable for this usage are available on the open market. As shown in the drawings, the display form is essentially flat while in a relaxed state and has the side profile of the human foot and ankle, including a toe portion 11, rounded heel portion 12 upstanding ankle and lower leg portion 13, and instep portion 14 all integrally joined in the single resilient body portion of sheet material. It will be appreciated that the lower leg portion 13 may be made longer to accommodate higher shoes or boots. The instep portion 14 is arched to permit the form to be easily fit into both high heel and low heel type shoes. The arched shape also permits visibility of the brand name without a reflection from the form. The degree of the arch of the instep may be greater, as shown by the phantom dotted line, 14a, to accommodate various uses. The display form includes a sharp projection 15 at the upper heel portion which extends upwardly to form a hooking means which is adapted to engage the heel or section or rear strap of a shoe. A second raised projection 16 is also provided on the front or instep side of the display form. This projection is also designed to engage straps in various types of footwear. A mounting hole 17 is provided to enable the form to be suspended in a display position by various means such as pins, .tacks, strings and so forth.

The display form as illustrated is being used in connection with a woman's shoe 18 of the open back type having a flexible strap 19 which surrounds the rear of the heel and lower ankle. Without the use of the display form, such strap would lie awkwardly in a collapsed position on the sole of the shoe in a window display or the like.

The display form is applied to the shoe regardless of the shoe size by flexing it to the necessary degree in a serpentine form as shown in FIG. 3 and by wedging the tapered toe portion 11 into the toe portion of the shoe upper while the heel portion 12 and the projection 15 exert pressure against and become locked onto the strap 19 or the back of the shoe upper in other forms of shoes. In this manner, the resilient form can be wedged into almost any size and style of shoe and will be self-supporting-in the upright position without the necessity for clips, pins or fasteners which might mar or damage a new shoe.

As shown in FIG. 1, the form will maintain the shoe strap 19 in an attractive normal use position and the transparency of the form tends to make it substantially invisible, producing a very nice effect where the flexible strap 19 is seen as if it were standing in space. In some cases, if preferred, the form may be opaque and colored to match a shoe color. It may also have an advertising label adhered thereto or suitable advertising indicia or a trademark or the like permanently imprinted thereon. In this connection, the form may be employed in mens shoes strictly as an advertising marker and thus has utility beyond the primary use as a support for straps or lacings which it is desired to display.

In FIG. 1, there is an illustration in broken lines at 20 of the display form in use for supporting an ankle strap or a leg lacing of the type now commonly employed on many shoes. In the case of long straps or lacings which surround half of the leg in use, these may be looped about the ankle portion 13 of the form a required number of times and the ends of the straps may be tied neatly with the ankle portion 13 under some degree of flexure and tension, which tension acts upon the strap or lacing loops to firmly support the same. The projection 16 serves to hold the strap 20 in its proper position. The height of the ankle portion 13 may in some cases by increased or decreased to meet the requirements for displaying particular forms of straps, ties or lacings. An additional number of projections 16 may be provided where the number of straps or lacings increase.

A second embodiment of the display form is shown in FIG. 4. It comprises a wire frame 21 generally shaped in the silhouette of a foot and ankle including a toe section 22, heel section 23, instep 24, and ankle 25. The upper portion of the form includes an integral hook 26, which may be used to hang the form from display rods or the like, or used as a means to attach other fastening means to mount the form.

The wire used would preferably be of the clothes hanger type to permit a certain amount of rigidity while retaining flexibility to enable it to be easily inserted into various types of shoes. The features described in connection with the plastic display form are applicable to the wire form where appropriate. For example, an integral hook 27 may be provided to engage the shoes when the form is in its supporting position.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. A display form and advertising attachment for footwear comprising a unitary resilient body portion of sheet material having the side profile resembling a human foot, including instep, toe and heel regions, and at least the ankle region of the lower leg, the body portion capable of being flexed from an initially flat relaxed shape into a serpentine form for wedging into footwear, said form including integral means for engaging portions of said footwear to maintain said form with respect to said footwear, whereby the body portion will be self-standing in the footwear and straps, ties or lacings of the footwear are supportable in approximate use positions on the body portion.

2. The structure of claim I, and the body portion formed of transparent plastic material.

3. The structure of claim 1 wherein said engaging means includes at least one projection tapering to a point and extending outwardly from the edge of said form to permit engagement of said footwear.

4. The structure of claim 3 including a projection on the heel portion of said form to engage the heel section of heel strap of said footwear.

5. The structure of claim 4 further including at least one projection on the instep region of said form to engage the straps of laces of said footwear.

6. A footwear display and advertising form comprising in combination with a flexible strap, tie or lacing element on the footwear, a single piece resilient sheet plastic body portion shaped to resemble the human foot including instep, toe and heel region and at least a portion of the lower leg, said body portion wedgeable into a shoe by flexing into a serpentine formation longitudinally of the shoe, said form including at least one integral projection tapering to a point and extending outwardly from the edge of said form to engage said footwear and thereby becoming self-standing in the shoe, and said strap, tie or lacing element being supportable on the body portion substantially in a standing gage the straps or laces of said footwear.

* l i i 

1. A display form and advertising attachment for footwear comprising a unitary resilient body portion of sheet material having the side profile resembling a human foot, including instep, toe and heel regions, and at least the ankle region of the lower leg, the body portion capable of being flexed from an initially flat relaxed shape into a serpentine form for wedging into footwear, said form including integral means for engaging portions of said footwear to maintain said form with respect to said footwear, whereby the body portion will be self-standing in the footwear and straps, ties or lacings of the footwear are supportable in approximate use positions on the body portion.
 2. The structure of claim 1, and the body portion formed of transparent plastic material.
 3. The structure of claim 1 wherein said engaging means includes at least one projection tapering to a point and extending outwardly from the edge of said form to permit engagement of said footwear.
 4. The structure of claim 3 including a projection on the heel portion of said form to engage the heel section of heel strap of said footwear.
 5. The structure of claim 4 further including at least one projection on the instep region of said form to engage the straps of laces of said footwear.
 6. A footwear display and advertising form comprising in combination with a flexible strap, tie or lacing element on the footwear, a single piece resilient sheet plastic body portion shaped to resemble the human foot including instep, toe and heel region and at least a portion of the lower leg, said body portion wedgeable into a shoe by flexing into a serpentine formation longitudinally of the shoe, said form including at least one integral projection tapering to a point and extending outwardly from the edge of said form to engage said footwear and thereby becoming self-standing in the shoe, and said strap, tie or lacing element being supportable on the body portion substantially in a standing normal use position.
 7. The structure of claim 6, and said sheet plastic body portion being at least in part transparent.
 8. THe structure of claim 6 including a projection on the heel portion of said form to engage the heel section or heel strap of said footwear.
 9. The structure of claim 8 further including at least one projection on the instep region of said form to engage the straps or laces of said footwear. 